Never Grow Up
by NerdGirlHappy
Summary: AU! Shelby raised Rachel... It's Rachel's wedding day, and Shelby's little girl isn't so little anymore. Nostalgia, Memories, Tears and Laughter... Features Quinn and Beth. One-Shot.


**A/N: This idea came in to my head a while ago, and I wasn't sure which account i wanted to upload this on, but I eventually settled with this one. I'm a huge Shelby fan, so I hope this does justice. I feel that her character wasn't fully explored, so I feel comfortable in saying that she may not be OOC. However this is AU, in that Rachel was raised by Shelby, and Beth is adopted, but wasn't Quinn and Puck's kid. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. If I did I would have done Shelby/Rachel's story line a whole lot better. Also, the title of the song, and the lyrics at the end, come from Taylor Swift's Never Grow Up**

**Hope you like it... Enjoy...**

**Never Grow Up**

The dress was perfect. It was everything she had ever dreamt about. She ran her hands over the embroidered torso, smoothing down the ruffles gradually as she turned in the mirror.

Her ideal wedding dress. And she was finally wearing it.

The door opened behind her, the squeak the first sign before she noticed it moving in the mirror. Turning to the side, she smiled as her mother stood in the doorway, leaning against the wall.

"You look… Amazing." She sighed.

Rachel grinned, turning back to look at herself in the mirror with her hands still placed on her stomach.

"Thank you."

Shelby slowly approached her daughter, wrapping her arms around her waist and rested her chin on Rachel's shoulder.

"I mean it honey. You are absolutely stunning."

Rachel leant back in to her mother's embrace, sighing.

"I can't believe it's actually today. I'm getting married today. God, that's so weird."

Shelby smiled, squeezing Rachel's stomach slightly before stepping back, reaching to the side to pick up the veil.

"I know. I remember helping you get ready for your Prom."

Rachel giggled, shaking her head as Shelby slowly ran her fingers through her perfectly curled hair. Placing the veil over Rachel's head, Shelby slowly whacked her daughter on her arm.

"I remember you were swearing an awful lot because you couldn't get my hair to stay the way you wanted it."

Shelby rolled her eyes at Rachel's teasing.

"It's not my fault your hair was impossible to manage back then."

Rachel scoffed, turning to look over her shoulder with her eyebrow raised.

"It so is your fault. I got everything from you but my eyes."

Shelby shushed her, turning her head to look back in the mirror as she tightened Rachel's veil in to her hair.

"Hush you."

Rachel smiled as her mother worked the veil in to her hair, sighing as Shelby stood back. Turning, she smiled at her mom, holding her arms up and shrugging her shoulders slightly.

"Well… How do I look now?"

Shelby smiled both proudly, and sadly.

"All grown up."

Shelby stuttered slightly, tears welling up in her eyes. Closing them, she refused to let them fall. She knew, above everything, that she'd be crying during the service. She'd like to at least keep her make-up somewhat decent before that actually started.

She'd known this day would eventually come. The day she'd officially hand her daughter over to someone else. She'd been dreading this day since Rachel was twelve, rushing through the front door with a giant smile declaring 'I got a boyfriend today mom!', before running up the stairs and in to her room.

To be perfectly honest, she'd been dreading this day since she'd first held Rachel after the nurses had cleaned her off.

The day her daughter grew up. The day Rachel wouldn't need her anymore.

"Mom!" Rachel whined, bringing Shelby from her musings and causing her to open her watery eyes. "That is so not the reaction I was looking for. Maybe like, 'You look gorgeous Rach' or 'I've never seen you look so amazing'. Not, 'All grown up'. So not what I wanted."

Shelby laughed at her daughters theatrics, stepping forward to embrace her daughter again.

_It's not what I wanted either._

Pulling back, her arms still gripping Rachel's shoulders, Shelby couldn't stop the tear from slipping down her cheeks.

"But you are, honey." She said, smiling sadly as Rachel watched the tear slowly slide down her face." You are all grown up. I can't believe you're not my little girl anymore. God, not meaning to sound cliché, but just yesterday you were saying your first words and finger painting with me on the back porch."

Rachel rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath.

"Can't get rid of that damn painting."

Looking up, she sighed.

"Are you ever going to take that off the fridge?"

Shelby could tell her daughter was joking around, but she couldn't bring herself to laugh.

"You made that painting with me when you were four. You told me, and I quote, 'I'm never going to grow up mommy. I wanna paint with you forever'." Laughing, distracted in the memory, she pulled back further, her hands leaving Rachel's shoulders to grip her own hands and pull them out slightly. "It's sounds silly, and you probably don't remember. But no, that painting will stay on that fridge even when your own kids are running through that house."

She closed her eyes

_Oh god, why did she have to say __that__? She could barely hold it together when Rachel was getting married. She didn't want to have to think about her daughter having her own children._

"Mom." Rachel said softly, their hands still intertwined. "I remember."

Shelby opened her eyes, slightly startled by Rachel speaking.

"I remember because after we painted that I dumped my hand in the blue paint bucket and smeared it across your face. You attacked me and we ended up two walking, talking rainbows."

Shelby laughed, one hand reaching up to wipe her tears carefully.

"You sung the colours of the rainbow while you painted my face."

Rachel nodded, tears welling up in her own eyes, but unlike her mother, she managed to keep them at bay.

"I am always going to be that little girl mom. I'm always going to be your little girl. Just… I won't be living with you, and I won't get to see you every single day. And, come on, that's been how it is since I left for NYADA."

Shelby smiled, closing her eyes and pulling Rachel in to her arms.

"Mom!"

"Oh, hush up and let me hug you."

Rachel smiled, closing her own eyes and resting her head in to her mother's neck.

The door opened behind them, Rachel's Maid of Honour stepping through the door in the blue and silver dress Rachel had chosen.

"Are you nearly ready Rach?"

Rachel pulled back, looking over Shelby's shoulder to nod.

"Pretty much. Thanks Quinn."

Quinn nodded, smiling as Shelby turned.

"You okay Shelby?"

Shelby nodded, her arms tightening around Rachel's shoulders.

"I'll be fine. Let's get my daughter married."

Drying her eyes, Shelby followed Quinn out of the door to be greeted by the rest of the bridal party, Rachel following close behind and receiving a stunned gasp as they saw her in her dress. Beth, Shelby's sixteen year old daughter, walked up to her older sister.

"You look great Rach."

Shelby smiled as she watched her daughters hug, a small nagging feeling in the back of her mind about having to go through this all over again when it was Beth's turn. Shelby shook her head, pushing the thought back as she watched the girls scramble to get in to position.

There were quite a lot of girls in this room. Quinn had been Rachel's friend since they were both five. Santana, Mercedes and Tina, Rachel had met in New York when she'd moved here for collage. Brittany, Sarah and Jess she'd met while at the workshop for her first Broadway musical.

Then again, there were quite a number of guests. Rachel was only twenty-nine and already she was considered Broadway Royalty. Shelby had never been so proud. All of New York had been waiting for this wedding for over a year.

Shelby had been waiting for this for nineteen.

_Oh darling, don't you ever grow up  
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little  
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up  
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple  
Won't let nobody hurt you  
Won't let no one break you heart  
And even though you want to, just try to  
Never grow up  
Oh, don't you ever grow up  
Oh, never grow up, just never grow up_

__**A/N: I hope you liked it. I'm going to attempt to put the picture of the dress and Rachel's hair up on my profile, if anyone wants to see it. I'm not sure how to do that, so if it's not up, I apologize. Please review it. If anyone expresses interest, I may write a sequel that is basically Rachel's life with Shelby, and perhaps even after the wedding. Laters.**


End file.
